BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS BEHIND THE GOLDS

Hard work is what turns talent into ability.

This year, the World Cup has been played across different cities, and Team China had training sessions even on traveling days when some participating teams chose to rest up after a tiring flight. Landing in Osaka at 14:30 on September 25, the Chinese players showed up in the Maruzen Intec Arena at 16:00 for practice.

Even so, each team was only given 90 minutes for training in the competition arena, which was not deemed enough in the eyes of coach Lang. Team officials had to negotiate with the organizing committee to use time given up by other teams or rent a court in another arena.

"Coach Lang focuses on details of the technique in the training sessions, and I feel our team has become more balanced," captain Zhu Ting told Xinhua after a straight-sets victory over the Dominican Republic.

This committed approach explain how China managed to turn the table against the United States at the World Cup.

Three months ago, China suffered a chastening 3-0 defeat to eventual champions USA in front of their home crowd in Jiangmen in the Nations League.

But when the two teams paired off in the World Cup, Zhang Changning jumped high for a smash to convert match point which gave China a 3-0 clean sweep over their arch-rivals, paving the way for their title defense as the two teams were both unbeaten prior to their clash.

"Every player for China played very well. That was a great team win for China," USA coach Karch Kiraly admitted. "They played much better in service and reception, and our reception was not so good. But China do lots of things really well, they have improved their game from the Nations League."

A similar story of revenge occurred at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, where China shrugged off a 3-1 loss to the hosts in the group stage, and wrapped up a 3-0 victory to take their first volleyball Olympic gold.

The win firmly established China as a powerhouse on the global stage, as the team claimed consecutive titles after winning the 1981 World Cup and the 1982 World Championship. The team went on to defend their crown at the 1985 World Cup and the 1986 Worlds, ushering in a golden era of Chinese volleyball founded on hard work and determination.

Back in 1972, the Chinese national team's first training center in the southeastern city of Zhangzhou was made of bamboo.

"It consisted of five bamboo scaffold courts with cement floors. The players were bleeding every time they fell down as gravel scraped their arms and legs," recalled Zhong Jiaqi, former head of the Zhangzhou volleyball training center.

"Back then, every player was required to save 70 percent of the 200 spikes by the coach in order to strengthen the defense," Zhong continued.

The tough conditions helped iron the unbending wills of the players, paving the way for five consecutive major titles from 1981 to 1986.

This steely resolve was passed onto younger generations. At the Athens Olympics in 2004, China recovered from two sets down to edge Russia for gold, even with star spiker Zhao Ruirui out injured, and last time out at Rio in 2016, China shook off a slow start to defeat Serbia 3-1 in the final for their third Olympic gold.

"Never giving up, especially in adversity. I think that's what the spirit of Chinese women's volleyball means," Lang said at Rio 2016.

The current squad also keep that to heart: setter Ding Xia fell to the ground for a dig and one second later, she was shouting "I'm on it." Gong Xiangyu came to Japan with a damaged finger, but still tried her best to save every ball even during training. 32-year-old Yan Ni was surrounded by rumors she might have to retire with a shoulder injury, yet she was always there blocking in front of the net.

"The spirit of Chinese volleyball comes from every minute, every play, every day of training," said captain Zhu Ting, who rose to the occasion time after time at the 2019 World Cup when China encountered difficulties.